How to Plant, Grow, and Care For Pawpaw Trees

I have to admit, I’ve been a huge fan of pawpaw trees since I was a little kid. It may have started with a song about “Little Suzie” who went “Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch” to pick a bunch of pawpaws and put them in her pocket. I always imagined she had really big pockets that were loaded down with wild fruits. When I saw my first pawpaw tree growing in the wild, I’m sure I went wild with glee to finally taste these delicious fruits for myself. 

Pawpaws (Asimina triloba) are native to the central and eastern United States and provide great value to the home landscape. In their native habitat, you’ll see them in moist woodlands and woodland edges. As a landscaping plant, they are a welcome addition to an edible landscape, wildlife-friendly habitat, or native garden.

Plant Natural History

Pawpaw trees are native to North America. Their range includes southeastern Canada, south to Florida, and west to Texas. These trees typically grow in moist, deciduous forests, along streams, and near wetlands where they get plenty of regular soil moisture and also plenty of shade.

As long as there have been people in the Americas, people have been eating pawpaws. These trees produce an abundance of sweet fruits that are edible raw, making them easily accessible to anyone to simply harvest and eat. As plant growers became interested in these native fruits, they started breeding them to form a number of cultivars, some of which are available commercially. 

Characteristics

The common pawpaw is a deciduous, fruit-bearing tree that grows 15 – 30 feet tall. These trees develop a single main trunk with smooth, gray bark. They are sparsely branched and develop a pyramidal form with lower branches tending to be longer and more pendulous than upper branches.

Pawpaw leaves are uniformly bright green with smooth edges. They are oblong and narrower at the base closest to the stem and broadest at the pointed tip. The leaves hang gently downwards for a slightly floppy appearance. In the fall, these leaves turn attractive shades of yellow and orange before dropping for the winter.

They bloom in the spring. Their flowers are a bit unusual. Each flower measures one to three inches across and has six distinct yet overlapping brownish-maroon petals. The three outer petals are larger and form an overall triangular shape with the three smaller petals forming a central, smaller triangular shape. Each flower has both male and female parts but they are not self-fertile. You’ll need at least two different pawpaw trees for cross-pollination and fruit production.

The fruits ripen in mid to late summer in the south and late summer to early fall in more northern climates. Pawpaw fruits can be up to six inches long and look somewhat like an oblong pear. Their smooth skins ripen from green to yellowish-green, sometimes with harmless brown spots appearing on ripe fruits. The skin is soft and easily bruised.

Ripe fruits have a tender yellowish inner flesh. They have a sweet flavor often described as a cross between a banana and a mango. The texture is smooth and custardy rather than crispy or crunchy. Each mango fruit typically contains several large, smooth, flat, black seeds. The pulpy part of the fruit is fully edible when ripe. The skin and seeds are not edible.

Fruit Formation and Harvest

These trees don’t produce fruits right away. They generally need to be around seven years old before they start to flower and form fruits, although the age of first fruiting will vary depending on the general health of the tree and its growing conditions. 

Pawpaws are not self-fertile and a single tree will bloom but not bear fruits. You’ll need at least two separate trees to produce fruits. Since natural pawpaw pollinators are not particularly dependable, you can help your plants along by doing some hand pollination. When both trees are blooming in the spring, simply use a soft paintbrush to gather pollen from one tree and share it with the flowers of the other tree, and vice versa. 

Fruits start to form immediately after flowering. In the beginning, they are small, oblong, firm, and green. The fruits ripen anywhere from August to October, depending on local climate conditions. Once they start to ripen, all the fruits on the tree will be fully ripe within a short two-week period. Harvest them when they become slightly soft and yellow. Ripe fruits will release easily from their stems. 

Pawpaw fruits are best eaten fresh. They will last for a few days at room temperature or for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. The soft inner flesh is edible. The large black seeds and skin are not edible. Many people like to cut a pawpaw in half and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, separating it from the skin. 

Propagation

Pawpaws naturally reproduce by seed and by developing colonies from root suckers. New plants that develop from root suckers are genetically identical to the parent plant while plants grown from seed will be genetically unique individuals and therefore able to cross-pollinate and produce.

You can sow fresh pawpaw seeds in moist soil in your yard and hope they germinate the following spring, or you can try sprouting the seeds in pots and have a bit more control over their environment.

Seed

Want to try growing your own pawpaw tree from seed? The process is simple but requires patience. Pawpaw seeds need cold, moist stratification for 70-100 days, followed by a long germination period. 

Harvest fresh seeds from a mature pawpaw fruit and wash them off to remove the skin-like membrane surrounding each seed. Place the freshly washed seeds on a moist paper towel, wrap them up in the moist towel, and place the moistened seed packet in a plastic bag. Cold stratify this packet in the refrigerator until February or March. Don’t let the seeds dry out after harvesting or they quickly lose viability.

After this period of cold stratification, place the seeds in individual pots filled with moist potting soil. The pots should be tall enough to accommodate a long taproot and they should have good drainage. Seeds should be planted one inch deep and kept moist at around 60-70°F (16-21°C). 

Keep the seeds warm and moist until they germinate, which could be anywhere from three weeks to three months. Don’t give up if they don’t germinate right away, they are very slow to get started. Even after germination, you’ll need to continue being patient. Trees started from seed won’t begin to bear fruit until they are seven or eight years old. 

Transplanting

The best time to plant a pawpaw tree is in the late fall or early spring when the tree is still dormant. These trees develop strong taproots; be careful not to damage or break the taproot while handling your tree during transplanting. Once a pawpaw tree is established in a location, plan to leave it there.

Before you transplant a new fruit tree to your yard, you’ll need to select the best site available and prepare the site for transplanting. Clear away weeds and competing vegetation. Dig a hole slightly wider and deeper than the pot in which your tree is currently growing.

Carefully remove the tree from its pot and gently spread out the roots if they are wound around in the pot. Place the tree roots in the hole, taking care to aim the taproot down. Dig a little deeper if needed, so the taproot is relatively straight rather than fish-hooked in the hole. Make sure the trunk of the tree is straight up and backfill the hole with soil. Add some extra compost or aged cow manure to the soil mix to enhance the soil, as needed.

Once your new tree is settled, it’s very important to water it. Give it a thorough, deep watering so the water has enough time to penetrate the soil and not just run off the surface. For the first few weeks after transplanting, keep the tree roots moist so they don’t dry out. Continue watering weekly during the growing season for the first year to ensure a healthy establishment. 

How to Grow

Pawpaw trees are very easy to grow. They are forgiving of many environmental challenges and will grow and become established in average soil, water, and sun conditions. If you can provide ideal growing conditions, you’ll soon have your own grove of native fruit trees thriving in your backyard. 

Sunlight

These trees thrive in both full sun and partial shade. For best fruiting, give them a site where they receive at least two hours of dappled sunlight each day. Pawpaw trees will grow in deep shade but may not flower or produce fruits in these conditions. 

Water

Pawpaw trees like moisture and will grow best in soil that’s uniformly moist. Once they’re established, you shouldn’t need to offer any supplemental watering. During the first year after planting, however, make sure they get regular watering so the roots become firmly established. Water the soil deeply once a week to supplement any lack of natural rainfall. 

Soil

Pawpaws prefer soil that is organically rich, moist, and well-drained. The soil pH should be slightly acidic, between 5.5 and 7.0. These plants won’t grow in very dry, sandy, or nutrient-poor soils, and they won’t thrive in soils that are heavy clay or constantly wet. 

Climate and Temperature

Pawpaw trees are hardy in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5-9. They tolerate freezing temperatures during the winter, and hot, humid summers. While you can grow pawpaw trees throughout this range, they may not receive enough chill hours to trigger flowering and fruiting in warmer climate regions along the coast and deep south.

Fertilizing

Pawpaw trees are well-adapted to natural environmental conditions and don’t require extra fertilization. They do, however, benefit from organically rich soil. Add a layer of organic compost or aged cow manure around your plants each spring for a nutrition boost without synthetic fertilizers.

Maintenance

Pawpaw trees are very low maintenance. They rarely require pruning or other routine care other than watering during times of drought. If allowed to fully naturalize within an area, pawpaws will form colonies from root suckers. Any unwanted root suckers can be pruned off so you can choose to host just a few primary stems rather than an ever-expanding colonization. 

Garden Design

If you live in a relatively mild climate within the central or eastern United States, you’ll love growing pawpaws in your native woodland garden. As an understory tree, the pawpaw is a great shade-loving tree but requires a bit of space to form its spreading root system and subsequent colony. Allow enough space to grow at least two trees for cross-pollination if you want fruits. 

Are you creating an edible landscape? Try growing some fruiting trees and shrubs like pawpaws and blueberries. These plants add year-round structure and habitat to support native pollinators, butterflies, and birds. Pawpaws and other fruiting plants are not only edible but also highly ornamental. You’ll appreciate their attractive shapes and yellow fall foliage, as well as their showy fruits.  

Varieties

If you look around, you’ll find dozens of different pawpaw cultivars. You may find varieties that are better suited for warmer or cooler climates, as well as those selected for heavy fruit production. Pawpaw cultivars are typically grafted onto the rootstock of another variety for increased hardiness.

‘Davis,’ Asimina parviflora ‘Davis’

The ‘Davis’ cultivar is a highly productive variety that produces an abundance of large fruits. If you’re growing pawpaws with the hopes of eating a bunch of them, this would be a great option to consider!

‘Mango,’ Asimina parviflora ‘Mango’

Would you love to grow your own mangos in a temperate climate? The ‘Mango’ cultivar allows you to grow sweet, yellow-orange pawpaws that give the illusion of the tropics. These vigorous trees will light up your landscape with their heavy fruit production.

‘Sunflower,’ Asimina parviflora ‘Sunflower’

While most pawpaws require another tree for cross-pollination, ‘Sunflower’ can produce self-fertile flowers and, therefore, its own fruits. The fruits are large, buttery yellow, and contain few seeds, making them excellent for snacking. 

Dwarf Pawpaw, Asimina parviflora

The dwarf pawpaw is a smaller species of pawpaw native to the southeastern United States. This species grows just six to eight feet tall and produces smaller fruits than other pawpaws, but they’re just as delicious. Dwarf pawpaw thrives as an understory tree in moist woodlands in warmer climates. 

Wildlife Value

Pawpaw trees are wonderful trees for a variety of wildlife. In particular, birds and many mammals relish the fruits so you will probably be sharing part of your crop with the local wildlife. 

Pawpaws are also the larval host plants for the beautiful zebra swallowtail butterfly. These large black and white striped butterflies lay their eggs on the leaves and the caterpillars feast until they are ready to change into the next generation of butterflies.

Look for green and yellow striped caterpillars eating holes in the pawpaw leaves. If you see them, allow them to stay and eat. They may cause minor leaf damage but won’t seriously harm your tree. 

Common Problems

Pawpaws are generally trouble-free and have very few problems. Few pests or diseases bother these plants but one in particular to watch out for is the pawpaw peduncle borer.

This destructive pest is the caterpillar of a small brown moth. The caterpillars are small and grayish brown with a lighter brown stripe along the back. These caterpillars burrow into the peduncle or stem of flowers causing the flowers to drop prematurely and preventing fruit formation. 

Frequently Asked Questions